When word came into the newsroom last night that former South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond had kicked the bucket, one of the copy editors asked me what I thought about "my guy Strom's" death. I responded that Strom, a segregationist, wasn't really my kind of guy. Though I'm sure we would agree on many things, I'm not the type that would be unabashedly with someone who'd supported segregation.

However, one thing I believe that I and Strom would always agree on is a fondness for the ladies.

In 1968, Mr. Thurmond, then 66 and a widower for eight years, married for the second time. His bride, Nancy Moore, a former Miss South Carolina, was 22.

...

Although Mr. Thurmond had been criticized for marrying a woman much younger than he, the marriage produced four children.

Now that's probably the most inspiring thing I'll remember about good ol' Strom.